Dust Containment With Bulk Material Conveyors

One of the common challenges of handling bulk solids in agriculture and chemical processing is controlling dust. Cambelt provides material handling equipment to minimize the dangers of dust.

The Dangers of Dust

The problems of dust with bulk material handling go far beyond sore eyes and a scratchy throat. Dust from certain chemicals can cause severe health problems when inhaled. It can settle in and damage equipment. In some cases, dust can be highly explosive.

Inhalation - Asbestos, benzene, and lead arsenate produce dust that can be deadly when inhaled. Some chemicals need only contact with skin to threaten health. Great care must be taken with these dangerous chemicals both to reduce the amount of dust released into the environment and to provide personal protection for workers.

Machinery Damage - Dust can affect the function of many machines. It can act as an insulator and cause electronics to overheat, it can cause arcing in high voltage systems, it can diminish contact of relays and switches, and it can quickly clog air filters in engines and air conditioning systems.

Explosiveness - Dry agricultural products such as grains, seeds, and hay can produce highly explosive dust in large quantities. This has been known to destroy large facilities and injure or kill workers.

Cambelts Solutions for Dust

Whenever materials are disturbed, they tend to release dust. This can happen in storage facilities as well as in transport vehicles and along loading and unloading conveyor belts. Cambelt's conveyor systems can be configured to reduce the danger of dust in several ways.

Single-belt systems

Materials kick up dust every time they are churned. The less movement that takes place during transfers, the less dust will occur. Cambelt conveyors are available in L and Z configurations as well as long distance belting to reduce the number of times a material is moved between belts.

Enclosed conveyors

Cambelt's air and dust tight enclosures keep dust from spreading into a factory space or the environment. Cambelt's enclosed conveyor options are designed to cover every material handling scenario. They include railcar unloaders, indoor conveyors, and free span conveyors with and without internal walkways.

Conductive Belting

It isn't possible to avoid all dust, but where dust is explosive, safeguards can help prevent conditions that would lead to an explosion. Static charge along a conveyor belt is sometimes the source of a spark that can ignite explosive dust. So Cambelt offers belting made out of a conductive rubber compound that prevents static electric build up.

These safety measures are very effective at reducing the dangers of dust in bulk material handling. They may be more effective when used in concert with a separate dust suppression or collection system.